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Two Lackawanna County businessmen have been charged again with theft from a municipality for failing to deliver on their promises to save money by purchasing streetlights from PPL.

Just weeks after a Northampton County jury convicted P.J. McLaine and Robert J. Kearns for pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Lehigh Valley town, another municipality, Coplay in Lehigh County, claims it, too, was pitched a plan to save taxpayers money.

Mr. McLaine and Mr. Kearns pocketed the cash and never finished the project, Lehigh County prosecutors contend.

County detectives filed four felony theft and conspiracy charges Thursday against the former owners of the now-defunct Municipal Energy Managers, a Dunmore-based firm that promised many municipalities it would acquire their streetlights from PPL and maintain the fixtures.

Pitched as a cost-saving move, MEM successfully acquired streetlights for 11 municipalities - including Carbondale, Dunmore, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre - but began foundering as the company expanded its reach.

Conviction

In January, a Northampton County jury convicted Mr. McLaine, 66, of Elmhurst Twp., and Mr. Kearns, 49, of Scranton, on the most serious charge, felony theft, while acquitting them of two lesser yet related offenses.

During a five-day trial, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli argued the businessmen promised Bethlehem Twp. in 2007 they would buy their streetlights from the utility. Instead, they pocketed $832,460 in taxpayer money, never acquired the lights and cashed out nearly $1.4 million in bonuses from the company's corporate bank account after inking the deal, Mr. Morganelli said.

Eighteen towns, including Bethlehem, handed over an estimated $6 million in taxpayer money in hopes of capitalizing on the business model, Mr. Morganelli said. MEM never acquired the lights and did not return the money to those towns, according to court testimony.

$160,000 at stake

Now, Lehigh County prosecutors contend MEM made a similar pitch to Coplay officials, who handed over $160,182 to MEM. The borough is near Allentown and Bethlehem Twp.

Mr. McLaine and Mr. Kearns "did not work, did not purchase the streetlights as promised and spent all the money," the district attorney's office said in a news release issued Thursday.

Mr. McLaine's attorney, Paul Walker of Scranton, said his client intends to fight the charges and plans to take the case to trial.

Mr. Walker and Mr. Kearns' attorney, James Swetz of Milford, both said they will appeal the Northampton County conviction to the state Superior Court.

"We do not believe a breach of contract is a crime," said Mr. Swetz, "and we believe we have case law on our side.

"That being said, the Lehigh County matter will be defended vigorously."

Mr. McLaine and Mr. Kearns also face charges in a similar case involving Hampden Twp. in Cumberland County. In Northampton County, their sentencing date is scheduled for March 15.

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